In his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, author John C. Maxwell writes about the Law of the Picture. This law is as important for sales professionals as it is for leaders. Listed below are three elements to this timeless law that, if understood and made a part of your lead generation system, will produce more referrals and leads, resulting in a higher probability of overall success in your business.

People do what people see: When people see you successfully helping others achieve their buying and selling goals they naturally want to be a part of what you are doing. When they see and hear of your clients having a great experience they too want the same experience. When they hear of success they want success. Whether they are friends, family, or random stranger,s people are watching what you do and what your clients do based on their experience with you. Your job, as a professional, is to paint a picture that draws them to you and creates within them a desire to want to engage you as their trusted advisor and build a long lasting relationship.

People follow if they trust: Becoming a trusted advisor takes time and a great deal of effort. Trust is not built overnight so you need to have a system in place to earn people’s trust. This can happen as you go through a transaction with them. It can also happen as you communicate regularly with them about their needs and concerns surrounding their buying or selling decision. You earn trust by listening more than talking, connecting more than communicating, and demonstrating more than presenting.

People return what they’ve received: If you provide consistent - reliable customer service and deliver a great experience to your clients they will want to help you grow your business and return the favor. If you help them achieve their goals they will help you achieve yours. However, you must let them know how they can return what they’ve received. It is important that you take the time to share how you grow your business, why loyalty is important to your long-term success, and why you love to get referrals from people you’ve worked with in the past.

Let’s look at some practical examples of how you can implement each element of the Law of the Picture in your business:

Implementing people do what people see: Share with your past clients and leads on a regular basis your success in helping others achieve their goals. Have your past clients write testimonials where they share their experience with you. Using a one page flyer or newsletter, list out your satisfied buyers and sellers from each quarter, along with a testimonial. Openly thank this group of people for trusting you and allowing you to serve them. I call this a sign of success campaign.

Implementing people follow if they trust: If you are going to listen more than talk, you must become great at asking questions that get you to the essence of peoples’ needs and concerns. Develop a list of qualifying questions and a needs assessment questionnaire for your first face to face meeting with a client. If you are going to connect more than communicate, you must understand the vision and goals of your client. The only way you will be able to connect with them is if they perceive that you have listened to their needs and are capable of providing solutions that make sense and address those needs. The opposite is when you communicate a list of services and value ads that are generic to all potential clients regardless of their particular situation. Presenting solutions that match your client’s needs is only the beginning, you have to take action and demonstrate that you are able to navigate through a challenging market, work with all the different players in a transaction, and provide tangible-measurable results along the way.

Implementing people return what they’ve received: The most effective way to implement this element of the law is to be transparent with your leads and clients. In your first sit-down with a client, share your vision and strategy for achieving long-term success. Explain that your goal is to have them have such a great experience they will immediately want to tell all their friends and family how they achieved their goals with your help. Finally, be loyal, honest, and tenacious about helping your client achieve their goals. If they see this in you they will return the favor.

Question: How is your customer service and actions helping you grow your business and achieve your goals?